


The Two Of Us Tonight

by orphan_account



Category: Jonas Brothers, One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:31:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Zayn and Nick flirt via concerts and youtube, keep each other from dumping their band mates into a ditch, and Nick is proclaimed the future Mrs. Malik. Not necessarily in that order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Two Of Us Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Title not actually really applicable to the fic but I needed something for a title and "LA Baby" by the Jonas Brothers came on shuffle.
> 
> This is the most self-indulgent fic ever and I have no sense of shame about it. That is all.

Nick met Zayn at the VMAs, and it took them approximately five minutes before they started talking.

Nick had been unceremoniously dragged over by Joe, who was gesturing to Zayn, who had very obviously been trying to hide behind the one with the curly hair, whose name escaped Nick at that moment. Joe had all but yanked Zayn into a hug and then grinned when he let go. Nick heard Zayn mutter something about ‘Jesus, Louis isn’t this bad’ and laughed, because yeah, that was Joe.

Joe’s actual introduction of them consisted of him shoving Nick towards Zayn and saying, “and this gigantic dumbass is my brother, Nick.” Nick flipped him off and waved awkwardly at Zayn, mentally debating with himself whether or not it would hurt their career if he killed Joe and dumped the body in a ditch.

“Don’t kill him. He means well,” Zayn said and Nick looked up, surprised. “I know that look. I’ve worn that look. Often.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess your guys aren’t that much different, huh?” Nick asked, the corners of his mouth turning up in a nervous grin.

“Not really, no. Although I have four of them, where you only have two,” Zayn replied, smiling back and holding out his hand. “Zayn Malik, since your brother seems to have forgotten that the polite thing to do is let people introduce themselves.”

“Nick Jonas,” Nick said, taking Zayn’s hand and shaking it for a moment before letting go. “And yeah, Joe’s good like that. Or not good, I guess.” Nick rubbed at the back of his neck, trying not to feel awkward. “Ugh, god, I sound like an idiot.”

“Trust me, after spending all my time with this lot, you sound like a genius,” Zayn replied, grinning at Nick, easing some of the awkwardness he was feeling and making him grin back. “I love them, I really do, but I swear, after a while, I just kind of want to...”

“Kill them and dump the bodies in a ditch? Or the ocean?” Nick asked and Zayn nodded, grinning.

“Exactly. Come on, we can go sit and talk like normal people. Your brother is befriending Harry and Louis and I fear what may happen if we’re in close proximity,” Zayn said and Nick nodded quickly, glancing over at Joe, who was, in fact, making friends with the rest of Zayn’s band. After a moment of just staring in horror, Nick slowly started backing away from them, nodding again.

“Yeah, getting away is probably a good idea. Joe could do anything from being only semi-irresponsible to coming up with the idea that a great end to the show would be to blow the stage up.”

* * *

Nick woke up to a text that seemed to consist of a lot of angry key-smashing, which was followed by another text that read _fuck my friends, seriously. is leaving them in a ditch still an option?_ That text was followed by another keysmash, though this one had a _fuck, sorry_ attached at the end.

Nick, half-asleep still and lacking in the coordination to text back on a stupid iPhone, just called him, smiling at the picture he’d taken of Zayn for the contact photo and holding the phone up to his ear.

_“Seriously, if I kill my mates, you will help me take care of the bodies, right? You can’t suggest things and then not help,”_ was the greeting Nick got, making him laugh and nod, even though Zayn couldn’t see him.

“I’ll help. There’s a nice, wide ditch that’s not too far from the shore and gets cleared out around high tide,” Nick said, getting up and heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “And can we add my brother to that ditch? He left his shoes all over the apartment. Shit!” Nick caught himself and glared at the offending sneaker before kicking it away.

_“Please tell me you’re not dead. That would be really unfortunate.”_

“Not dead. Although Joe’s going to be. I tripped over a stupid sneaker,” Nick grumbled, starting the coffee maker and getting out a mug. “And anyway, like I’d die and leave you to haul four bodies all on your own.”

_“The fact that you’d give death the finger to help me move the bodies of my friends is touching, it really is.”_

“It is too early for sarcasm, Zayn.” Nick concentrated on pouring the coffee successfully and not spilling any while Zayn retorted that _it’s never too early for sarcasm, Nick, never_. “It is when I’m only just now getting coffee.”

_“How are you managing coherent conversation right now, then? I can’t get more than two words out before I’ve had a smoke and at least one coffee.”_

“Magic. Willpower. Not a total dependency on caffeine,” Nick replied, sipping his coffee and wincing when he burned his tongue. “Being woken up by texts from you asking me about a ditch helps.”

_“Yeah, I suppose that would. Sorry for waking you, though.”_

“Hey, if it prevents you committing first-degree murder and going to prison for the rest of your life, there are worse things. So, aside from wanting to kill people, how have you been?”

* * *

Nick spent more time over the next few weeks glued to his phone and texting Zayn, while Joe spent his time texting or calling one of Zayn’s friends, which usually ended with Nick stealing his phone and telling Harry or Louis or whichever one it was with the hair to put Zayn on. Joe usually rolled his eyes and muttered about Nick having his own phone, which was usually ignored because Nick was already talking to Zayn and tuned him out.

On one such occasion, Joe was in the middle of talking to Harry, and Nick leaned over the back of the couch to pluck the phone from his hand.

“Hey, Harry, put Zayn on, will you?” Nick asked, ignoring Joe’s grumbling about how Nick had his own phone and Harry’s laughter in favor of listening to Zayn’s _hi, Nick_. “Tell Harry I’m sorry for interrupting his phone call.”

_“I would, but you’re not actually sorry.”_

“...You have a point.”

“Seriously? What was so important that you had to steal my phone mid-call?” Joe grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Go away, Joe. Anyway, so, I forgot to mention it earlier, but I actually wanted your opinion on this song I’m writing,” Nick said. Next to him, Joe shook his head and sighed before shoving Nick off the couch and taking the phone back.

“Zayn, put Harry back on and call Nick on his phone. And tell him to stop stealing mine.”

“You have more international minutes!” Nick yelled, voice muffled from where his face was buried in the carpet.

* * *

Nick, although he would deny it if asked, bought both of One Direction’s albums and listened to them until Joe threatened to delete his entire iTunes library and disconnect the internet. Singing it in the shower was probably what pushed Joe over into threatening it, but it wasn’t Nick’s fault. “Kiss You” was just a _really_ good song.

Joe’s response to all of it had been to buy him a T-shirt, handing the bag to Nick with a smirk. Nick pulled the shirt out and actually laughed, changing into it and taking a picture in the bathroom mirror of it. He texted the picture to Zayn, adding _my brother bought it for me. what do you think?_

His phone pinged with a twitter notification and he pulled it up to find Zayn had posted the picture with _@nickjonas’ new shirt. i kind of like it._

Nick muttered a quiet _thank god_ that his parents didn’t follow Zayn, because explaining him wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed him the “future Mrs. Malik” would be really awkward.

His phone pinged with a text and he pulled it up to find Zayn had replied. _i didn’t know fan shirts came in boy shirts._

Nick snickered and sent off his reply. _i don’t think this is a men’s shirt._

* * *

Nick pestered Joe and Kevin for days until they agreed that “yes, we can add a One Direction cover to our set list, Jesus, Nick, shut up already”. Videos of them singing “Live While We’re Young” were on youtube within an hour of the concert ending.

Waking up to Zayn’s texts of _!!!! you didn’t_ and _oh my god you did_ and _you’re kind of awesome_ the next morning was worth the shit Nick got from Joe and Kevin about it.

Two days later, Nick woke up to find a link from Joe waiting in his inbox and clicked it to find a video of One Direction singing “Burnin’ Up”. Nick grinned and sent off a text saying _you’re ridiculous_ to Zayn, who just replied with _:D_.

Nick, in return, prodded his brothers into playing “What Makes You Beautiful” at their next show, getting a text from Zayn the next morning declaring him to be just as ridiculous as Zayn was.

It only got more ridiculous from there. One of Zayn’s bandmates sent him a video he took of Zayn singing “Your Biggest Fan” and Nick grinned so hard his face started hurting.

Instead of waiting for another concert to cover a song, Nick set up a video camera and grabbed his guitar, sitting himself on his bed and starting to record.

“Hi, guys. This is for Zayn, who is even more ridiculous than I am, no matter what he says to the contrary,” Nick said, grinning and starting to play “One Thing”. He posted it to youtube and linked to it on twitter and just waited. Not five minutes later, his phone buzzed with a text from Zayn, which said _liar. how am i the ridiculous one?_

Joe stuck his head in at that moment and sighed.

“Did you really sing a love song on youtube and dedicate it to Zayn? Really, Nick?”

“What? You’re the one who bought me the ‘future Mrs. Malik’ shirt,” Nick retorted, glancing down at his phone to find another message from Zayn. _check twitter in about ten minutes._

‘Check twitter in ten minutes’ turned out to mean ‘watch Zayn sing “Hello Beautiful” in a youtube video’.

_“Nick Jonas is a liar, for the record. He’s definitely the more ridiculous one. And this is for him.”_

“Are you going to stop awkwardly flirting via song covers or do I have to lock you in a closet?” Joe asked. Nick flipped him off and just turned the camera back on.

“Zayn, you’re the more ridiculous one. Don’t even pretend otherwise,” he said, trying to remember the chords for a minute before starting to play “Last First Kiss”.

* * *

“Mom wants to know if you’re actually dating Zayn or not. Apparently, she does pay attention to what you post to youtube. Especially when it’s love songs dedicated to other boys. With the pronouns in the song changed,” Joe said, sitting down next to Nick on the couch. Nick didn’t look up from the staring contest he was having with his phone. “What happened?”

“I asked Zayn if he wanted to visit when he had time off. And if he wanted to go on a date if he did visit. He hasn’t replied yet.” And then his phone buzzed and Nick’s hands shook the tiniest bit as he pulled up the text from Zayn. “Yes! He said yes to both. And that his next break is in two weeks.” Nick paused and paled. “Oh shit, I have a date with a guy I like.”

“Watching you panic is such a nice change,” Joe commented, grinning and patting Nick’s shoulder.

“You suck. Go away while I freak out.”

* * *

Zayn showed up at the airport jet-lagged but smiling, hauling a suitcase and backpack and hugging Nick.

“You have no idea how good it is to see someone that isn’t my friends right now,” Zayn said, earning him a poke in the side from Nick. “Hey, you’re a friend too. I just meant the ones I spend all my time with.”

“I better be. Otherwise, I was going to stick you on the lumpy living room couch instead of in an actual bedroom,” Nick replied, mock-glaring at Zayn as they let go of each other. “Come on, car’s over there. You hungry or do you just want to sleep off the jet-lag?”

“Oh, god, sleep. I slept on the plane, but I don’t think I got any rest,” Zayn groaned, following Nick to the car and shoving his suitcase in the back. “Sleep sounds amazing.”

“Alright, then. Get in and you can crash as soon as we get there. Joe was nice and is staying with a friend,” Nick said, getting in and smiling at Zayn. “It’s nice to see you, by the way.”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Zayn replied, yawning immediately after. “I probably won’t last until we get to your flat.”

“Go to sleep, Zayn. I’ll wake you up when we get there. God knows L.A.’s a parking lot anyway.”

* * *

Nick watched as Zayn stumbled out of the guest room at ten in the morning, holding out a cup of coffee when Zayn made grabby hands. He opened his mouth to talk and Zayn just gave him a look.

“No talking until after the coffee?” Nick asked, smiling at Zayn, who appeared to be dangerously close to falling back asleep. Zayn just grunted in reply and started sipping at the coffee. “If you need to smoke, just crack a window.”

“Trying to quit again,” Zayn mumbled. “Nicotine patches are a damn godsend.” He held up his arm and Nick nodded when he saw the patch stuck to the inside of Zayn’s arm. “So, I’m here for a week. When’s our date?”

Nick nearly choked on his coffee. After a minute spent coughing and trying to clear his throat while Zayn just sat there and looked amused, Nick finally calmed down enough to be able to properly glare at Zayn, who just grinned in response.

“You asked me out on a date. You really think I’m not going to remind you?”

“You could’ve waited until after I stopped drinking, you know,” Nick replied, rolling his eyes. “And I figured tomorrow night. Give you some time to get settled. Drag you to a few sights.”

“You do realize that we’re both in world-famous bands, right? With easily recognizable faces?” Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow at Nick.

“Well, if you leave your hair down and wear long sleeves, you’ll be fine. God knows your hairstyle and tattoos are dead giveaways.”

“It’s called a quiff, Nick,” Zayn said, smiling and finishing his coffee. “That might work, though, yeah. If not, well, I should probably learn to run faster anyway.”

“Well, then. Get ready and we can go.”

* * *

Their date ended up being dinner from a Chinese takeout place and watching Skyfall on the big screen in Nick’s apartment. Or, the intent was to watch Skyfall, but that got derailed right around the time Nick leaned in and kissed Zayn. Zayn mumbled something that sounded rather like _fuck, finally_ and kissed him back.

And, well.

It was difficult to pay attention to Daniel Craig when making out with someone.

* * *

_Epilogue! (approximately a year or so later)_

Nick already had his phone out and had called when he realized that it was four in the morning for Zayn. The mumbled answer on the other end said that yes, his boyfriend had been asleep when he called.

“Shit, sorry. I forgot about the time difference,” Nick said, wincing and shaking his head as he unlocked the door and headed into his apartment.

_“S’alright. Only four, babe. What’s up?”_

“Not important enough to wake you up. Go back to sleep, Zayn.”

_“Nope. Awake now. What’s going on, Nick?”_

“Just frustrated and wanted someone to talk to. I snapped two guitar strings today, one of which hit me in the face, and I ended up with a drumstick in my hair,” Nick said, burying his face in his hands and sighing. “I blame that last one on you because you said I should let my hair grow out.”

_“As you should. You can rock many terrible haircuts, but I’m afraid a buzz cut is something that only Liam should try.”_

“So you’ve said. Sorry for waking you up,” Nick said, smiling.

_“Well, I was kind of already awake, actually,”_ Zayn replied. The door to the apartment opened and Zayn waved from the doorway. “Surprise? Harry sprained his ankle, so we had to postpone a few shows, leaving me with a week-long break.”

“Remind me to send Harry a thank you card,” Nick said, smiling for a moment before he pulled Zayn into their apartment and kissed him.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Little Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/814308) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




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